Dubrovina Lyubov, Gestwa Klaus

Return from Germany to Ukraine of the "Sofian Charter" of Peter the Great on the Metropolitan Appointment of Ioasaph Krokovskyi in 1708: Ukrainian-German History of the Original Charter and Prospects for Restitution of Cultural Valuables

Abstract: The goal of the article is to cover the ceremony and the German-Ukrainian scientific colloquium dedicated to the return from Germany to Ukraine of the Charter of tsar Peter the Great, on the appointment of Metropolitan Joasaph Krokovskyi in 1708. The Charter was taken from the fоnds of the V. I. Vernadskyi Library during World War II and ended up at the Institute of East European History and Local History of Tubingen University. The colloquium was attended by German and Ukrainian scientists. Natalia Sinkevich revealed the historical significance of the Charter, the history of the Charter and the personality of Metropolitan Joasaph Krokovskyi himself. Tetyana Cebta traced the history of the Charter to 1941 and proved her belonging to the collection of St. Sophia Cathedral, stored at the Institute of Manuscript of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine. Korinna Kur-Korolev investigated the circumstances of the export of Charters from the library during the Second World War according to the documents of the German archives; Katarina Kucher revealed the history of the Charter at the Institute of East European History and Local History of Tubingen University and the work of experts on the return of the diploma. Wolfgang Eichwede shared the experience of transferring another Charter of the St. Sophia collection, issued by Peter the Great in 1700 to Metropolitan Varlaam Yasynskyi, together with the director of the Goethe Institute Kyiv branch, Countess Ute Baudissin, the return of the painting by Hans von Mare from Kyiv to Bremen. Halyna Kovalchuk, Olga Stepchenko (Kyiv) brought attention to the history of the formation of the collection in St. Sophia Cathedral, disclosed the contents of the unique book and manuscript collection stored in the V. I. Vernadskyi Library. Klaus Gestwa and Lyubov Dubrovina discussed the results of the research of the Charter. The Return of the Charter is an example of fruitful scientific cooperation between scientists from Germany and Ukraine, an effective solution to the issue of the return of expropriated cultural values. The location of many expropriated materials remains unknown today. Therefore, it is important to develop international cultural and scientific cooperation, and the creationof the State Registry of Lost Cultural Property.

Keywords: St. Sophia Charter of Peter the Great, displacement of cultural property, World War II, Institute of East European History and Local History of Tubingen University,V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine.

  Full-text PDF    https://doi.org/10.15407/rksu.24.329     Citation

• Dubrovina Lyubov (V. I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, Ukraine, Kyiv, dubrovina@nbuv.gov.ua) ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1011-7910
• Gestwa Klaus (Institute for East European Studies and Local Lore of the University of Tübingen (Germany), klaus.gestwa@uni-tuebingen.de)

Cite:
Dubrovina Lyubov (2019). Return from Germany to Ukraine of the "Sofian Charter" of Peter the Great on the Metropolitan Appointment of Ioasaph Krokovskyi in 1708: Ukrainian-German History of the Original Charter and Prospects for Restitution of Cultural Valuables. Manuscript and book heritage of Ukraine, (24) 329-342. doi: https://doi.org/10.15407/rksu.24.329

References:

1. Povernennia v Ukrainu hramoty Petra I Ioasafu Krokovskomu 1708 r.: materialy urochystoho peredannia Hramoty ta ukrainsko-nimetskoho kolokviumu 30 travnia 2019 r. z istorii unikalnoho dokumenta Sofiiskoi kolektsii [The returning to Ukraine of the Peter the First Charter to Joasaph Krokovskyi, 1708: Materials of the solemn transfer of the Charter and Ukrainian-German colloquium on May 30, 2019, on the history of the unique dokument from St. Sophia collection]. (2019). L. Dubrovina, T. Arseienko, Z. Sharikova (Comps.). [In Ukrainian].
2. Kur-Korolev, K., Kukher, K., Sinkevych, N., Sebta, T. Trofei viiny: istoriia vyvezenoi z Kyieva hramoty Petra I ta nimetski studii Sxidnoi Yevropy do I pislia 1945 r. [Tropheis of war: a history of the Peter the First Charter exported from Kyiv and German Sudies on the East Europe before and after 1945]. (2017). In Bibliotechnyi visnyk [Library Bulletin]. No. 1.
3. Bolkhovitinov, Ye. Opisanie Kievo-Sofiiskogo sobora i Kievskoi yerarkhii [Description of the Kyiv St. Sophia Cathedral and Kyiv episcopy]. (1825). Part 2. Kyiv. [In Russian].
4. Dubrovina, L. A., Onyshchenko, O. S. Istoriia Natsionalnoi biblioteky Ukrainy imeni V. I. Vernadskoho. 1941–1964 [History of V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine. 1941–1964]. (2003). Kyiv. [In Ukrainian].
5. Dubrovina, L. A., Onyshchenko, O. S. Istoriia Natsionalnoi biblioteky Ukrainy imeni V. I. Vernadskoho. 1918–1941 [History of V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine. 1918–1941].(1998). Kyiv. [In Ukrainian].
6. Barvinok, V, I, Zahalnyi ohliad starodrukiv kyivskykh bibliotek [General review of the early printed book in Kyiv libraries]. (1924). In Bibliolohichni visti [Bibliological news]. Kyiv. [In Ukrainian].
7. Hnatenko, L. Zibrannia rukopysnykh knyh ta arkhiv Sofiiskoho soboru [Collection of manuscripts and archives of the St. Sophia Cathedral]. (2015). In Arkhivy, kolektsii ta zibrannia derzhavnykh, hromadskykh ta relihiinykh ustanov u fondakh Instytutu rukopysu Natsionalnoi Biblioteky Ukrainy imeni V. I. Vernadskoho. Putivnyk [Archives and collections of the state, public and religious institutions in the fonds of Institute of Manuscript of V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine. Fonds’ Guide]. Kyiv. [In Ukrainian].